Starting from Arkansas: Four Continents, Four Countries, Four Kids - Hardcover

This beautifully illustrated memoir covers Robert Stobaugh's first thirty-eight years—from a precocious boy attending a two-room schoolhouse in McGehee, Arkansas, to a self-confident, highly skilled young man on the rise. The author provides a colorful view of his childhood in the cotton-country delta town. His hard-working father prospers despite the Depression, and his salty-tongued mother fosters a love of travel in young Bobby, even if that means missing some school. In telling his story, Stobaugh foreshadows his future as a professor, linking business trends and world affairs to events in his own life. He candidly details the careful choices that underlie his success and shares lessons learned along the way. From the frugal budget of the young bridegroom to the life-changing decision to abandon corporate life for academia, we see the attributes that make Stobaugh a man ahead of his time and a good role model for today.

Robert B. Stobaugh, educator, author, and corporate director, is the Charles E. Wilson Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and received its Distinguished Service Award in 2001. His research, teaching, and consulting at the Harvard Business School focused on four fields: international business, finance, energy, and corporate governance. He headed the project that produced the 1979 best seller, Energy Future, which remains relevant today. His expertise has served the White House, Congress, and the courts. He has been a director of eleven companies, a pension fund, and several nonprofits. In retirement, he taught corporate governance at Rice University in Houston, where he lives today.